International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) : Bangladesh taken out of unsafe civil aviation list

BANGLADESH NEWS

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has cleared Bangladesh off the list of countries having unsafe civil aviation system after keeping blacklisted for the last three years.

Bangladeshi aviation industry is now expecting a boost in business, as due to being on the significant safety concern (SSC) list local airlines did not get approval to operate flights on international routes for the last three years. Now these companies will get permission to fly on new international routes.

In addition, Bangladeshi aircrafts are likely to overcome restrictions imposed by several European countries to land and take-off at their airports.

This is also a step forward for the country to resume Dhaka-New York flights, as the SSC listing was a major obstacle in this regard.

This will also help Bangladesh be upgraded Category-1 from the existing status of Category 2. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2006 demoted Bangladesh to Category 2.

“We have received a letter from the ICAO sent on July 19 saying that Bangladesh has been cleared off the list of SSC countries,” said Wing Commander S M Nazmul Anam, director of flight safety and regulation of CAAB.

“We have been able to satisfy the ICAO with an all-out effort to comply with their instructions to ensure safety in flight operations,” said Anam. Citing the letter he said, "The collective actions of Caab in addressing and resolving the safety threats were found satisfactory."

Bangladesh had been on the list of SSC countries, which is considered as ‘blacklist’ in aviation industry, since May 2009 when the country failed in an inspection.